Beer Style

Pale Ale : Blonde / Golden

Adnams East Green Carbon Neutral78A nicely balanced celebration of ecofriendly brewing from the green guys in Southwold. It's not as hoppy as other recent Adnams additions such as Explorer and Innovation, but pleasant nonetheless. The...

Adnams Explorer78Flavour-loaded, dark golden beer designed to be served chilled.

Adnams Innovation85A mighty, limited-edition beer. ‘Serve chilled', says the label, and the flavours are so robust that you can really get away with it. The name celebrates the brewery's advances in energy-efficient p...

Arkell's Swindon Pride75A golden beer with fine summery flavours. The bitterness of the finish may daunt some drinkers.

Arundel Sussex Gold75A golden ale with good, interesting flavours if you like a hop bias to your beers.

Atlas Brewery Nimibus Blonde78A smooth and mouthfilling beer in the continental blonde style rather than following the trend for golden ales with a citrus accent. The diacetyl note (butterscotch, as it is technically known) will n...

Badger England's Gold78A truly fruity, golden ale that will happily outlast England's less than golden performance in the World Cup. An easy-drinking showcase for the First Gold
hop, with a useful bar chart on the label sh...

Badger Golden Glory73It contains peach blossom and tastes too contrived for my liking, but I know this beer does have plenty of fans. The fruitiness would make it worth mixing and match with food.

Batemans Summer Swallow75A pleasant, clean, very light drinking bitter with an informative back label where a bar chart – similar to the one used by Badger – graphically displays the
flavour profile of the beer.

BrewDog Trashy Blonde78The bitterness in the finish is a just a little harsh but otherwise this is an impressive, golden beer with plenty of body and, as you'd expect from Brew Dog, no shortage of taste.

Caledonian Golden Promise75One of the first organic ales, although the strain of barley that gives the beer its name is no longer used in the brew. After a full malty aroma and taste, the finish is
refreshingly delicate.

Caledonian Golden Promise78A ground breaker: Britain's first ever organic beer and still on good form. A little thick in the finish, perhaps, but there's plenty of character here.

Cervesera Montseny Malta75A Spanish take on a pale ale. Not as richly malty as the name suggests, with hops having the greatest say.

Cerveza Patagonia Patagonia66Lager brewers do not normally favour such a strong diacetyl note, but it may be what this Argentinian brewery is trying for. If you like toffee, then you'll be happy with this golden beer. Interesting...

Daas Blonde74A fresh and clean tasting, pale yellow Belgian ale, but
it lacks the depth to keep you interested for long.

Het Anker Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor83The latest extension to the Gouden Carolus range, a yellow beer with a deep, dense foam of tiny bubbles. It features four types of hops but is typically Belgian in its challenging strength, musty yeas...

Port Brewing The Lost Abbey Devotion85The inspiration is clearly Belgian but there is more than a suggestion of American-style IPA in this welcome arrival. Whatever it's meant to be, it's very good and is
presented – like 10 Commandment...

Purity Farmer's Harvest75A dark golden ale brewed to mark the centenary of the National Farmers' Union. It claims to be the first beer to carry the ‘red tractor' logo, authenticating the provenance of the ingredients.

Randalls Wycked73An interesting golden ale that could, perhaps, be just a touch cleaner.

Ringwood Seventy Eight75An old-fashioned, orange-amber beer brewed to celebrate 30 years of brewing at Ringwood. It's not nearly as fruity as most of Ringwood's beers, and it's not bottle conditioned either, which takes away...

Springhead Roaring Meg73A full-flavoured blonde ale named after a cannon that was used by Roundheads to destroy Goodrich Castle, near Monmouth, in the Civil War. The overall impression is that it's a touch too bitter and cou...

Theakston Paradise Ale73A nicely dry, delicate beer featuring American Cascade hops. Perhaps too delicate to be pasteurised for the bottle and sure to be even better on draught.

Thornbridge Kipling80Described as a ‘South Pacific pale ale', thanks to the inclusion of rare Nelson Sauvin hops. Another first-class beer from Thornbridge, although perhaps a bit too intensely flavoured for some.

Thwaites Double Century Celebration Ale
No shrinking violet – a veritable potpourri of flowery, fruity flavours from the blend of Golding and Fuggles hops, with Bramling Cross added late for maximum,
perfumed impact. A little too sweet in...

Woodforde's Sundew
The essence of summer in a bottle: like walking through a colourful English garden. Nevertheless, it's very much
a true bitter when it comes to the finish.

Wychwood Goldwing73An ‘English blonde beer', exclusive to Sainsbury's. Tasty, but perhaps a touch too dry. A little more sweetness would help, especially in the finish.

Wychwood Oxford Gold80Formerly known as Brakspear Organic Beer. A crisp and rewarding, bottle-conditioned beer with an excellent track record in what – because of the unpredictable quality of the ingredients – is a dif...